Email & Social Media - How to Create an Interactive Conversation?

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To connect with people you have to learn to carry on an interactive conversation. There are many opportunities to engage with consumers. There are five possible interaction points where the recipient can be engaged. Email does a good job to get you there. Social media can help you take it a little further.

1. Welcoming Them - When people sign up to become members of your organization, club, or even your email program - send them a welcome message. Share your social media links. Go one step further, send them a link to a special video, pictures, an article, or even a peek into the inner circle (perhaps your Facebook page). Make it easy for them to join your social media circle. Don't just say join us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter - give them a teaser with a real reason to sign up.

2. Thank You - Don't forget to thank people when they transact with you. Send them both an email message with a link to your social media site and solicit their feedback. Encourage them to send you back a picture or video for you to use on your social media sites of them using your product or service.

3. Update & Offers - If you are featuring different items and unsure of peoples preferences list multiple offers and track them. If people click on an event or a product, follow up with them on that particular product / service. Don't just make your email about pushing your products / service, instead show off your user generated content which includes picture, videos, testimonials, and invite people to contribute.

4. Invitation - Give people reasons to join your inner circle by asking them for feedback on what they think about your product or service. If you are hosting a workshop on financial services list two to three things that people might learn. Clark Howard's Video Minute is a short effective clip that draws a lot of interested people.

5. Statements, Receipts, or Alerts - When a purchase is made send the user a transactional receipt with a simple how to video or pictures. If you are a retailer you could send them a video of how many different ways the ensemble could be worn, perhaps a clip showing how to wear the scarf, a financial institution could encourage people to use an online savings calculator. My daughters school shares next weeks menu via a short podcast. This encourages us to go look at the site to plan out next weeks meal.

Email gets to your inbox quicker than direct mail. It can be used as a push vehicle to engage people and also be strengthened by user generated content collected via social media. Used in conjunction, it is an effective means to drive engagement. It is quick, can be personalized, and an effective way to create an interactive conversation.